Father arrested for beating son to death with hammer

A 69-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his 43-year-old son with a hammer at their home in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture.

According to police, the suspect, Junzo Kikuhara, a building contractor, turned himself in police at around 4:30 a.m. Sunday, Sankei Shimbun reported.

Police said Kikuhara told them he killed his son Ryoichi sometime between late Saturday night and early Sunday morning at the residence he shared with his son and another tenant. The victim was fatally beaten about the head several times by a hammer.

According to neighbors, Kikuhara reportedly had been having trouble with Ryoichi for a long time.